with a view to ascertaining points which might be of value particularly to Malta 
and Cyprus, but also to other parts of the Empire. They decided to recommend a 
grant of £300 towards the expenses of this work on the understanding that the 
balance of the expenses would be defrayed by the Government of Malta, and that 
the results of the enquiry would be made available not only for Malta, but also for 
Cyprus and the Empire generally. The total cost of the work was estimated at £600. 
. H was ^ rs f contemplated that Dr. John Borg should be employed on this 
mission, but the Government of Malta did not find it possible to spare his. services, 
and the officer finally selected for it is Mr. Paul Borg, Plant Pathologist in Malta, 
who is a qualified chemist. 
WEST AFRICA. 
the VVest African Colonies, with the possible exception of the Gambia, are on so 
considerable a scale, and at present so prosperous, as to be ineligible for participation 
in the grant. The Committee has received no application from any of these Colonies. 
WEST INDIES. 
Bahamas. 
At a meeting, at which the then Governor of the Bahamas, Sir W. L. Allardyce, 
v.CALG., was present, the Committee considered a memorandum by him upon the 
need for the investigation of sponge in the Bahamas, with special reference to the 
question of the possibility of extending its cultivation, which was widely practised 
m Honda and had lately been shown to be practicable in the Colony. A full 
summary of the memorandum is printed in Appendix II. The Committee 
decided to recommend that a Research Officer for sponge should be employed, and 
that he should be principally stationed in the Bahamas, although it was hoped that 
the results of his work would be valuable elsewhere in the West Indies, and also to 
Colonies m other parts of the Empire. The grant contemplated was £4,500, spread 
over thiee years. Effect has been given to these proposals. On the recommendation of 
oil Sidnev Mariner, Mr. L. R. Crawshay, of the Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, has 
been appointed Research Officer for Sponge. He left this country in May, 1920; to. 
take up his duties, and has furnished a preliminary report on the steps which he is 
taking to set up a laboratory in the island of Abaco. The Committee have approved 
of an additional grant of £600 for the establishment of this laboratory, and the 
Colonial Legislature has voted £100 a year towards the general expenses of the 
investigation. 
British Honduras. 
Forestry . — British Honduras originated as a settlement of mahogany cutters, 
and the mahogany industry continues to be the most important in the Colony. In 
1919 the Secretary of State drew the attention of the Governor to the facts that the 
Colony was not in possession of the services of any scientifically trained forester, 
and that its forests had not been examined by such an officer for upwards of 30 years. 
It was pointed out that, in the absence of further expert investigation, it was not 
possible to evolve a satisfactory policy for the conservation and utilisation of the 
forests. 
The Secretary of State suggested that, in the first instance, a trained forest 
officer should be employed to make a survey of the extent and present condition of the 
i orests in sufficient detail to enable the available supplies of mahogany and other 
kinds of timber to be calculated. In this connection he suggested that it would be 
well to study the conditions of the natural reproduction of mahogany trees, and the 
question of the advisability of artificial planting, wdiich was little practised if at all. 
He added that there also appeared to be scope for the study of the diseases, pests and 
other causes which led to the production of inferior wood, and, in particular, of the 
possibility of devising protective measures against the Teredo worm. 
As secondary objects of the, enquiry, the Secretary of State suggested the con¬ 
sideration of the possibility of establishing an export trade in timber of kinds other 
than those already exported, and of introducing into the Colony new forest industries, 
such as the making of wood pulp or the destructive distillation of wood. 
The Governor concurred generally in the suggestions of the Secretary of State, 
and the Legislative Council agreed to vote a sum not exceeding $4,000 to defray the 
expenses of the visit of an experienced forest officer. 
